Apparatus for lowering and hoisting life-boats from the decks of ships.



U. A. BINKS. APPARATUS FOR LOWERING AND HOISTING LIFE BOATS FROM THE DECKS 0F SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26, 1908.

INIVEIV'TOR Came/fa; 5507/0" zii a Patented Aug, 24, 1909. isanmrs-snngr 1.

Arm/Mira WITH/588E8- c. A; BINKS. APPARATUS. IOB. LOWEBI'NG AND HOISTING LIFE BOATS FROM THE DECKS 0P SHIPS.

Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 26, 1908.

WITNESSES INVENTOI? (or/76in" G.- A. BINKS. APPARATUS FOR LOWEE ING AND HOISTING LIFE BOATS FROM THE DECKS 0F SHIPS.

' APPLIOATION FILED max-'26, 1908.

932,101., Patented Aug. .24, 1909 INVENTOR ATTORNE rs,

UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE.

CORNELIUS A. BINKS, F MATAWAN, NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR LOWEBING AND HOIS'IING LIFE-BOATS FROM THE DECKS OF'SHIPS.

lowering and hoisting or raising life boats.

from the decks of ships; and the object thereof is to provide an improved apparatus of this class which is simple in construction and-operation, and which may be used on any kind or class of ships, 01' vessels and by means of which a life boat may be easily and safely lowered when desired and also quickly and easily raised to the deck of the vessel; a further object being to provide an apparatus of the class specified which is operated by a single winch device, which winch device may be operated by one or more men; and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in an apparatus of the class specified constructed as:

hereinafter described and claimed.

lowing specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which Figure 1 is an out-board or back view of my improved apparatus and showing part of the deck of a vessel in section','l*ig. 2 an end view looking forward and showing part 40 of the deck and hull of the vessel in section,

Fig. 3 a vertical section of the winch device on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4, Fig. 4. a lan view of the winch device with part of the construction broken away, Fig. 5 a partial section on the line of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 6 a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2.

In the practice of my invention, I provide two supports a comprisingstan'dards having outwardly directed horizontal base members a, and the standards a and hori- "/ontal base members a are connected by areshaped braces a, and said supports. are placed in parallel position on the deck a of the vessel and are retained in proper position by reinforcing angle plates at.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 26, 1908. Serial No. 469,430.

Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

the standards a of the supports a are davits Z), and these davits are provided with bolts 6 which pass through the slots a in the arcshaped braces a. The bolts 6 where theypass through the davits b are angular in form and the outer ends of said bolts are threaded and provided with hand wheels 6 and by means of this construction the davits Z) are free to swing in a vertical plane outboard and iii-board, and may be locked or secured in any desired position by turning the hand wheels Z1 v Between the horizontal base members a of the supports a are placed the; saddles c which'norinally support the boat 0 and placed midway betweenthe supports a and slightly inward-1y thereof, in the construction shown, is a winch device (Z. The winch device (Z comprises, in the form of construction shown, side frame plates (Z connected zit-the back or in-board side bytwo transverse bars (Z and d, and said side fralneplates are also connected, in the form of construction shown,

by rods (1 and (1 the first of which is placed The invention is fully disclosed in the folat the top outer corner. and the latter just inwardly of the bar d", and above the rod d is another rod d which also connects the side plates (Z of the winch device.

Passing forwardlyand backwardly through the winch device (I is a shaft 0, the ends of which are supported by Z-shaped bracket plates 0 secured to the opposite sides of the base portions and the standards (1' of the supports a, and this shaft is provided with two drums c on which are wound. or nviih which areconnected cables 1 which are passed around pulleys in the top "portions. of the standards a of the supports a .and also around other pulleys in the upper or free end portions of the davits b and from which they are carried down and connected with the bow and stern-of the boat by means of hook devices 1 or in any other preferred manner, and said cables are preferably provided ju'st above the hook devices f with stop blocks or similar devices f.

Secured to the shaltwithin the frame work of the-winch device 4 is a large gear 9 provided with a grooved hub g and pass around thevhub g of thegear g is a brake band 9, one end of which is secured to the rod d and the other end of which is connected at with an arm mounted on the roddi The outer or rear end of the arm 9'' is'slotted or yoke-shaped in form as shown at g", and mounted therein is a cylinder g through which passes a vertically arranged screw 9 and the lower end of the screw g is pivoted or rotatably mounted in. the bar (Z of the winch device (1 and the upper end thereof passes through the bar 1.! which forms a bearmg therefor, and said screw is provided at its upper end with a hand wheel g and by manipulating the screw the brake 9 may be operated as will be readily I of theclutch hub or member if is asupplemental clutch member 2' provided with the usualannular groove z' and pivoted at 2 1s a clutch arm z" the outer end of which 1s provided with a handled? and the inner end of which is provided with the usual clutch ,oke i havin inwardl directed lu s or y a: z:

,pro ections 17 which operate in the groove '5 and by means of this construction the supplemental clutch member 2' may be moved longitudinally on the crank shaft h and to-' ward or from the clutch member on the gear wheel 12.

The shaft h, as shown in Fig. 3, is provided with a spline l1, movable in a corresponding groove in the clutch member i.

" and by means of this construction the said clutch member is free to slide longitudinally on said shaft but cannot turn thereon.

' dles c.

In Fig. 4 of the accon'manying drawing the clutch members It and z are shown in connected and operative position in full lines, and disconnected or in inoperative position in dotted lines.

The operation will be readily understood from the foregoing description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the following statement thereof. The normal position of the parts of the apparatus is that shown in Fig. 1, in full lines, in which the boat rests in the sad- If new it is desired to lower the boat into the Water from the deck of the vessel the proeedure is as follows :-Presuming that the brake is not in operation, and that the clutch devices It and z are in operation, the crank shaft It is turned so 1S t0 raise the boat 0 into the position, shown in dotted lines at w in Fig. 2, the hand wheel-s 7J3 are theXtJi-Uifid so as to permit the davits Z) to tion they rest on the horizontal base members a of the supports a. The boat 0 may then be loweredistill farther into the water i by turning the crank shaft h by hand in the same direction, or the crank shaft 11. may be released and the clutch devices h and 2' thrown out of operation and the boat ,allowed to fall into the water, and this falling of the boat may, if desired, be regulated by manipul-atii'ig the brake screw 9* and the brake band by means of the hand wheel y. 'l nstead of following the above description the boat may be dropped into the water from the position shown at m in Fig.;2 by releasing the clutch devices ft and 2', and this operation may also be regulated by means of the brake device if desired.

The operation of raising the boat from the water into the position shown in dot-ted lines at w in Fig. 2 and then lowering it into I the saddles a will be readily uiulerstood, all that is necessary, the clutch devices It and i and the brake devices being out of opera tion, being to turn the crank shaft 71 in the proper direction to wind the cables f on the drums 0" untilthe davits b are in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 and the boat in the position shown at ac, after which the hand wheels I) are turned so as to hold the davits in said position and the crankshaft it turned so as to lower the boat into the saddles c.

Any suitable means may be provided for l'iolding the clutch arm 2" either in the operative position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, or in the inoperative position shown in dotted lines in said figure. In Fig. 2 l. have also shown at I; a part of one side of the hull of the vessel, and by means of my improved apparatus as herein shown anddescribed the boat 0 in the operation of lowering and raising the sameis suspended clear of the hull of the vessel, and my improved apparatus is, as will be seen, well adapted to accomplish the object for which it is intended; and various changes in and modifications of the construction described may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages. t In the construction shown the supports'a and arc-shaped braces a are composed of separate side plates secured' together and a central member a 'secured between the horizontal bottom portions a of said supports and the davits b when'lowered into the position shown at w in Fig. '2 rest on the outer end portions of the parts a as indicated in dotted lines in said figure, but these supports may he constrlicted in any, desired manner and may be cast integrally if desired.

" upright members, toms of said members,

arc-shaped braces connected with said mem-' t-hreaded bolts passin 1 and th-rough'said arc-s toms of l. Ina'n' apparatusof the class described,

'. two supports adapted to be secured te the deck of a vesseland provided with slotted da-vits pivoted in thebotoutwardly extending b'ersand slotted'vrtically'and laterally and through which said davits are free to pass, through said davits aped-braces and provided at their outer ends with hand wheels the hubs of which are threaded tocorrespond with the threads You said bolts, pulleys mounted in the tops of the upright members of'said supports, other ulleys mountedin the upper or free ends of the davits, a horizontal drum shaftmonnted rearwardly of the base of said supports and provided with drums at itsopposite ends and rearwardly of said supports, cables connected with said drums and passed over the pulleys in the upright members of the supports. andover the pulleys in the davits, and means for operating said shaft.

In an apparatus of the class described, two su ports adapted to be secured to the deck of upright members, davits pivoted in the botsaid members, outwardly extending arc-shaped braces connected with saidmemi a gear wheel mounted bers and slotted vertically and laterally and through which said davits are free to pass, bolts through said arc-shaped braces and provided passing through said davits and at their outer ends with hand wheels, pulleys upright members of said supports,

zontal drum shaft mounted rearwardly of the base of said supports and provided with drums at its-.ppposite ends and rearwardly of said supports, cables connectedwith said drums and passed right members of the supports and over the pulleys in the davits, and means for operating said shaft consisting of a winch frame through which said shaft passes, a gear wheel mounted on said'shaft,-a crank shaft, thereon and meshing with the gear wheel on the drum'shaft', a brake devlce' operatiim in connection with the gear wheel on the drum shaft, a movable clutch member mounted on the crank shaft "and oprating in connection with a stationfully described my invention, 3 what I c aim as new and ';Letters Patent, is

a vessel and provided with slotted over the pulleys in the up? a wheel onthe crank shaft, and means erating said clutch member.

In an apparatus of the class described, a Winch frame, a shaft passing therethrough and provided with a gear wheel having a brake hub, a brake band passing around said hub and one end of which issecured to a for opstationarysupport, a pivoted brake arm to which the other end of said band is secured, said brake arm being provided with ayokeshaped head, a rotatable cylinder mounted in said head, and a screw shaft mounted in stationary-supports and passing vertically through said rotatable cylinder.

ary clutch member connectedwith the gear '4. In a Winch frame for the purpose specithrough and provided with a large gcair wheel having a brake hub, a brake band mounted on said hub, means for operating said brake band, a crank shaft mounted over the drum shaft and provided with a gear wheel which meshes with the gear wheel on the drum shaft and is provided with a clutch member, and a supplemental clutch member to operate in connection with the first named clutch member, and means for operating the supplemental clutch member.

two supports comprising horizontal base members and upright members, the upright members, being base members being connected by arcshaped braces tslotted vertically, davits pivoted in the bottoms of the upright' members and passing through the arc-shaped braces, pulleys in the tops of the upright members and shaft mpunted rearwardly of said supports and provided at its opposite ends with spools, cables connected passing-around theapulleys in thetops of the upright members ends of the davits, shaft and means for the arc-shaped braces.

means for operating said locking the davits to as my invention I havesigned my name in presence of-the subscribing witnesses this 24th day of December 1908.

CORNELIUS A; 'BINKS,

lVitnesses: v

C. EIMULREANY,"

A, R. APPLEMAN.

slotted, and said upright and with, said spools and and in the tops 01'' free tied, a frame, adrum'shaft passing therei -movable longitud nally on the crank shaft and adapted 5. In an apparatus of the class described, I

in the tops or free ends of the davits, a spool" Intestimony that Iclaim the foregoing 

